Ohio lawmakers latest to try to prohibit ranked choice voting
Last week, the Ohio state Senate passed Senate Bill 63, a bill that makes it more difficult to implement ranked choice voting in the state.
Although SB 63 does not outright ban the practice of ranked choice voting, it threatens to withhold funding from local governments or municipalities that use the system. SB 63 was co-sponsored by Sens. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) and Bill DeMora (D-Columbus), who argue that ranked choice voting is too confusing and can cause delays in election results.
“Ranked choice voting flies in the face of that commonsense work by causing greater uncertainty and delayed election results that can take days or even weeks to settle,” Gavarone reportedly said.
Rank the Vote Ohio has pushed back on these claims, citing positive exit poll results from voters who used the system in Minnesota, Alaska and Utah. The organization also argues the results can be calculated just as fast as plurality, first-past-the-post voting. Still, ranked choice voting came under fire in 2021 after it took 14 days for the Associated Press to declare Eric Adams the winner of the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, stemming from a tabulation error by the New York City Board of Elections.
https://heartlandsignal.com/2025/05/21/ohio-lawmakers-latest-to-try-to-prohibit-ranked-choice-voting/
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